By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has hand delivered records of President Bola Tinubu’s 1993 drug-trafficking and money-laundering case to Judge Howell Beryl of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, saying they are for her eyes only, court filings seen by Peoples Gazette indicated.

The FBI secretly submitted the records on Friday to avoid disobeying a court order while sidelining transparency campaigner, Aaron Greenspan, who petitioned the Bureau for the Nigerian leader’s records in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

Following years of foot-dragging on a FOI petition filed by Mr Greenspan in 2023, the FBI on Friday complied with a court order directing it to release Mr Tinubu’s records. Mr Greenspan worked with Nigerian journalist, David Hundeyin, to file the petition in 2023.

The records submitted as “under seal, ex parte, in camera declarations were hand delivered to the Court on August 28, 2026 in compliance with this Court’s Minute Order dated August 20, 2026,” filings showed.

Mrs Beryl lost her patience with the FBI after the bureau missed several deadlines , giving excuses on why it could not immediately provide the records.

She issued August 28 as the final ultimatum to the FBI, which prompted the FBI’s decision to comply, showing it “in camera” to the judge alone, without carrying along the petitioner.

Earlier this week , FBI claimed that submitting the records would violate Mr Tinubu’s privacy and argued that FOI was established to screen the operations and records of government institutions, not necessarily private individuals.

For decades, Mr Tinubu has avoided speaking on the drug affair, refusing to clarify controversies surrounding his involvement in a case that saw him forfeit hundreds of thousands of dollars to the U.S. government.

Mr Tinubu also sought to block the release of his records, asserting his rivals only sought to use them to discredit him in a Nigerian presidential election. He begged the court to protect his privacy rights.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 2023 released documents holding Mr Tinubu’s encounter with American authorities over allegations of narcotics trafficking and money laundering.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Nigeria Football Federation President, Ibrahim Gusau, has resigned from office, announcing his decision during a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.

According to the Super Eagles news account on X (@SSE_NGA), Gusau was joined by board members of the Executive Committee in resignation.

The crisis follows the Super Falcons’ failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, a first in Nigeria’s history, after a 2-1 defeat to South Africa in the play-off.

The Falcons had earlier been knocked out of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations at the quarter-final stage by Cameroon. The Super Eagles also failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

The NFF has separately faced scrutiny over its handling of a ₦17bn Federal Government intervention fund released in 2024, as well as a fact-finding committee report alleging that board members and officials influenced national team invitations for financial gain.

Gusau’s exit comes ahead of the NFF’s elective congress, scheduled for September 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) has launched a nationwide campaign tagged “Go Public, Fund Education”, calling for increased government investment in public education and urgent measures to improve the quality of teaching and learning across the country.

The campaign is aimed at drawing attention to the challenges confronting Nigeria’s public education system, particularly inadequate funding, poor learning conditions, teacher welfare and the growing number of out-of-school children.

Speaking at the launch, the NUT National Vice President, Comrade Kitzo A. Kalu, who represented the National President of the union, Comrade Audu Titus Samba, said Nigeria’s education system had yet to attain the required benchmark for a standard education system.

Kalu said the union was advocating for an education system capable of meeting international standards and providing Nigerian children with the knowledge and skills required to compete effectively in a changing world.

«“The education system in Nigeria is not up to benchmark. All we want is an education system that will take us to the standard. All we want is a good educational system,” he said.»

He stressed that adequate funding remained critical to improving the quality of education, noting that the welfare of teachers must also be prioritised if they were expected to perform effectively.

According to him, teachers who are well cared for are more likely to give their best to the profession, while poor welfare could negatively affect their effectiveness in the classroom.

“When the teacher’s wellbeing is taken care of, they will give their best. There is no way you can teach under an empty stomach,” Kalu said.

He therefore called on governments at all levels to take concrete steps to improve teachers’ welfare and working conditions, while also addressing the various challenges responsible for children remaining outside the formal education system.

Kalu particularly urged the government to intensify efforts to tackle the out-of-school children crisis, describing it as an issue requiring urgent and coordinated intervention.

He said the “Go Public, Fund Education” campaign was intended to mobilise stakeholders and draw greater attention to the need for sustained investment in public schools.

The NUT official maintained that strengthening public education was essential to the development of the country, stressing that government must provide the necessary resources for schools, teachers and learners.

Also speaking, the Kano State Commissioner for Education, Ali Haruna Makoda, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Bashir Muhammad, welcomed the initiative and expressed the state government’s support for the campaign.

Dr Muhammad said the initiative was timely and capable of contributing to efforts to address the challenges confronting public education, particularly the problem of out-of-school children.

He said the campaign was a welcome development and commended the NUT for organising it.

«“It’s a good initiative and it is highly welcomed by the Kano State Government under the leadership of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf,” he said.»

According to him, the campaign would contribute to efforts aimed at bringing more children into school and improving access to education.

He expressed optimism that governments across the country would support the initiative, describing the campaign as well organised and relevant to the current challenges facing the education sector.

The launch brought renewed attention to the need for stronger collaboration between governments, teachers’ unions and other stakeholders in addressing the challenges facing Nigeria’s education system.

The NUT maintained that increased public investment, improved teacher welfare and decisive action to reduce the number of out-of-school children were necessary steps towards building a stronger and more effective education system in Nigeria.